I have always had a passion for books and for the past four years I was honored with an appointment to the American Library Association CODES Notable Books Council. Now I am starting on a new adventure, the American Library Association CODES The Reading List book award for genre fiction.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Theft by Peter Carey

Told in alternating voices, Theft is, not surprisingly, a book about art theft. Butcher Boone is a flamboyant formerly "hot" artist who is in dire straits due to unpleasantness with his ex-wife and the law. He is also in charge of his volatile brother who has some type of disability or mental illness. When he meets the lovely Marlene he slowly becomes involved in an scheme that is equal parts forgery, scam and heist. The thriller portion of this book has a noir'ish feel but the most interesting part of the novel is the interplay between the two brothers.

This is a challenging novel that the author pulls off successfully although I have read other works with alternating voices that were more compelling to me this year.